The Mystery of Golf: A Briefe Account of the Game: Its Origine; Antiquitie; & Rampancie; Its Uniqueness; Its Curiousness; & Its Difficultie

by Arnold Haultain

Book Overview

Excerpt from The Mystery of Golf: A Briefe Account of Games in Generall; Their Origine, Antiquitie, and Rampancie; And of the Game Ycleped Golfe in Particular; Its Uniqueness, Its Curiousness, and Its... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618055223
• ISBN13: 9780618055227
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Golf student

The book arrived on time and in the condition stated. I would recommend the seller.

All aspects of golf are poetically demystified to a degree

All the mysteries of golf are probed: physiological, physical, spirituality and the author does not forget to tell you to keep your head down and your eye on the the ball until the swing is completed. Words can only partly explain golf (the full experience of the mystery, of course can only be gained from actually playing) and this little book does that part extremely well.

The Mystery of Golf

This book was written in 1908 and is largely philosophical about golf. However before one dismisses this as being `old-fashioned', this book contains many truths that today's golfers should reconsider as to what golf is really about. If your interest in golf lies beyond the technicalities of striking a pure shot this book will interest you - it talks about something that some old-timers, like myself, feel has been lost from the game. I found it well worth the time spent reading it.

Haultain's Comet

As a golfer, have you ever wished that you could go back to the early 20th century, and play the game as it was played then? Does the smell of hickory and balata put you in mind of Ouimet, Vardon, Ray and Jones? What is it about golf that creates in its adherents a love for the game bordering on obsession? Settle down of an evening with Arnold Haultain's "The Mystery of Golf" and you shall have a very pleassant evening indeed. The book will make you long for those halcyon days of golf, from 1890 to 1930, when the golfiong heroes bestrode America and Britain like Titans. Read it, and then consider: Where is Haultain now, when we need him most?

A classic in a neat new edition

This little book, written in 1908, says everything that"Golf in the Kingdom" had to say 70 years later, but it saysit more clearly and succinctly. It is basically a love letter to golf -- don't look for instruction or anything like that. It captures the essence of golf without becoming as incomprehensible as a zen koan. The author was a Canadian scholar who took up golf in middle age and pondered why the game had become such an obsession. Despite the dissimilarity between the game in 1908 and the game today, it is amazing how many of the author's insights still hold true (virtually all of them, with the notable exception of his misguided belief that the game would never descend to the level of crass profesionalism). Even though he was not an accomplished player, he had a real understanding of and feel for the game... This has been compared to Izaak Walton's "The Compleat Angler," and you should be forewarned that the prose is sometimes archaic and demands careful reading. Anyway, if you've played golf for any length of time, you'll surely find this more worthwhile and enjoyable than the latest book of tips from some PGA nonentity.